I found this statue to be timely considering some of the discourse these days. The Grieving Gold Star Mother statue located, appropriately, across the street from the Veterans Memorial Park at Charles R. Stanton Plaza in front of the Radisson and JD’s Tavern at 700 Elm St, Manchester, NH, is a tribute to all mothers and families who have lost a loved one at war.

The Grieving Gold Star Mother shows the teary eyed mom clutching a telegram, presumably with the notice of her son’s death. A potted planted lies knocked over in front of a photo of her son.

The 407 pound bronze statue, sculpted by Andrew Chernak, was said to depict a mother from World War II because that is the war that had the most fatalities. However, the Gold Star Mothers group was formed by Grace Darling Seibold during World War I when her son, George Vaughn Seibold, was lost (his body was never identified). In an effort to console herself and other mothers who had lost a child during the war, Grace created the group. The group not only consoled each grieving mother. They also dedicated themselves to doing community service and visiting wounded service members.

There are two Grieving Gold Star Mother statues in the U.S. The first Grieving Gold Star Mother statue is located in Carmel, New York. There is also a Gold Star Mother and a Gold Star Father memorial with statues of each Gold Star parent in Clinton, Ohio.

Bricks with the names of all of the wars the United States have been involved in (Colonial and post Colonial times) have been placed in front of the statue. The list of conflicts and wars and the loss of lives involved in those actions are staggering.

The memorial in New Hampshire was erected in April 15, 2011.

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About New England Nomad

Hi I'm Wayne. Welcome to my blog.
I am a true New Englander through and through. I love everything about New England. I especially love discovering new places in New England and sharing my experiences with everyone. I tend to focus on the more unique and lesser known places and things in New England on my blog.
Oh yeah, and I love dogs. I always try to include at least one dog in each of my blog posts.
I discovered my love of photography a couple of years ago. I know, I got a late start. Now, I photograph anything that seems out of the ordinary, interesting, beautiful and/or unique. And I have noticed how every person, place or thing I photograph has a story behind it or him or her. I don't just photograph things or people or animals. I try to get their background, history or as much information as possible to give the subject more context and meaning. It's interesting how one simple photograph can evoke so much.
I am currently using a Nikon D3200 "beginner's camera." Even though there are better cameras on the market, and I will upgrade some time, I love how it functions (usually) and it has served me well.
The great thing about my blog is you don't have to be from New England, or even like New England to like my blog (although I've never met anyone who doesn't). All you have to like is to see and read about new or interesting places and things.
Hopefully, you'll join me on my many adventures in New England!
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Thank you. I think it is a somewhat unknown memorial. It is located away from the sidewalk and you would have to be looking for it to know what it is. I had never heard about it before I searched for these types of memorials.

Thank you, Cheryl. It is almost hidden away. You may not notice it unless you are looking for it. In fact, you’re more likely to notice it if you go to JD’s Tavern and the hotel next to it. They may have wanted to place it away from the main traffic on Elm St so people can have some privacy and peace while they are visiting the memorial. It’s definitely a must see if you’re in the area.